Bruno Mannheim is a member of Intergang working under the clone of
Morgan Edge. He is also the son of Moxie "Boss" Mannheim. Mannheim and his minions kidnap
Guardian, Goody Rickels, and the
Newsboy Legion and has them eat a meal laced with pyro-granulate. After letting them go, Mannheim states that they will burn up in 24 hours. Guardian forces Mannheim into giving up the antidote for the pyro-granulate enabling him to save himself, Jimmy Olsen, and Goody Rickels as well as the Newsboy Legion.[3]
Post-Crisis
In the Post-Crisis, Bruno Mannheim is a member of Intergang. While Superman was dealing with a storm, Mannheim called a meeting with the Intergang council of war where they need to find a way to discredit Clark Kent,
Lois Lane, and
Cat Grant before Morgan Edge's trial.[4]
Mannheim and Intergang collaborate with
Toyman when using Apokoliptian technology in his revenge on
Lex Luthor. When Mannheim complains that Toyman is going to attract attention to him, Toyman urges Mannheim to stay out of his affairs.[5]
During the "Infinite Crisis" storyline, Mannheim becomes one of
Metropolis' most powerful gangsters and the leader of Intergang.[6]
Since his return in the miniseries 52, he claims now to have been "reborn" thanks to the
New GodDarkseid, and to have become a psychopath. During Week 25, now a devoted worshipper of crime itself, he has Intergang follow "The
Crime Bible" of which the original copy is bound by the stone with which
Cain killed
Abel. He is also shown to now be a cannibal, killing and then eating those whom do not submit to (or simply do not immediately join) Intergang like he did with
Mirage. Mannheim later abducts
Kite Man, Lamelle, Rawson, Sewer King, and
Squid in order to get them to join Intergang. Some of them turn him down and are killed as a result.[7]
Over the course of the series, he comes into conflict with
Renee Montoya,
Nightwing and the new
Batwoman, whom he wishes to sacrifice. As of Week 48, Mannheim has captured Batwoman and has her bound and gagged to a sacrificial altar, stabbing her through the heart shortly thereafter. When Montoya arrives and rescues her lover, Batwoman rips Mannheim's knife out of her own chest and impales him in the back, seemingly fatally. This is during Mannheim's attempt to turn
Gotham City into a miniature replica of
Apokolips. Batwoman survives her injuries.[8]
Superman encounters him several weeks later, mutated to be several stories tall. Before teleporting away, he states that Darkseid is not his master anymore. Based on that comment, someone else is behind Intergang's recent activity.[9]
In 2011, The New 52 rebooted the DC universe. Bruno Mannheim was seen as a member of Intergang at the time when Gotham City fell to the Religion of Crime.[11]
DC Rebirth
In 2016, DC Comics implemented another relaunch of its books called DC Rebirth which restored its continuity to a form much as it was prior to "The New 52". Bruno Mannheim was informed by two of his men that the attack on "Author X" has failed. He throws the two men into the swimming pool and electrifies it.[12] Lois and
Jon visit Cora Benning's office and find a note stating that she was taken by Intergang. While leaving the office, the three of them encounter Bruno Mannheim in the hall who claims that he is asking for directions. Lois thinks to herself that Mannheim is trying to get her to lower her guard.[13]
In other media
Television
Bruno Mannheim appears in Superman: The Animated Series, voiced by
Bruce Weitz.[14] Following a minor appearance in the episode "Fun and Games", in which he indirectly contributed to
Toyman becoming a supervillain, Mannheim and
Intergang receive high-tech weapons from
Kanto in "Tools of the Trade". After Superman defeats him, Mannheim flees with Kanto and meets the latter's boss
Darkseid, who Mannheim agrees to work for in exchange for power. However, in "Father's Day", Darkseid has Mannheim teleported to
Apokolips' fire pits and put to work. Sometime later, in "Apokolips....Now!", Darkseid teleports Mannheim back to Earth to cause a nuclear meltdown on a small island in preparation for an Apokoliptian invasion with the promise of political power. While Mannheim succeeds in overloading the reactor, Darkseid betrays him and leaves him to be killed in the ensuing explosion. Following this,
Granny Goodness takes over Intergang.
Bruno Mannheim appears in the Smallville episode "Stiletto", portrayed by
Dominic Zamprogna. This version is initially an underling of the Ace o' Clubs' owner and mob boss Ron Milano, who oversees a money counterfeiting operation. Mannheim and his associate A.J. mug
Chloe Sullivan, though they are driven off by
Lois Lane. After Milano mocks him for what happened, Mannheim kills him, takes over his operation, and begins plotting to eliminate all superheroes, starting with the vigilante Stiletto. Upon discovering the bartender
Jimmy Olsen was taking pictures of them, Mannheim and his gang take him captive and beat him for information on Stiletto.
Clark Kent attempts to rescue Olsen, but is affected by the
Kryptonite used in the counterfeit money before Stiletto defeats Mannheim and his men and rescues her friends.
Bruno Mannheim appears in the
third season of Superman & Lois, portrayed by
Chad L. Coleman.[15] This version is an African-American criminal operating in
Hob's Bay, the head of Intergang, the husband of the late
Peia Mannheim, and the father of Matteo Mannheim. He is first mentioned in the second season finale as the man responsible for the death of his Earth's John Henry Irons. In the third season, it is revealed that Mannheim has been experimenting with Superman and later Bizarro's blood on criminals to find a cure for cancer to save his terminally ill wife Peia which brings him into conflict with both Superman and an alternate Earth John Henry. After Peia is exposed as a metahuman serial killer and detained by the Department of Defense, Mannheim appears to find a cure and has his son Matteo inject Peia with it while visiting her, allowing Peia to escape, but the cure instead causes Peia to lose control of her power and eventually succumb. With nothing left to live for, Mannheim finally confesses to his crimes, including him and Peia murdering his former employer Boss Moxie (which they framed Lex Luthor for committing) in exchange for Matteo's charges being dropped. Mannheim's confession leads to Lex Luthor being released from prison.
Bruno Mannheim appears in DC Universe Online, voiced by Bruce Carey. In both the hero and villain campaigns, the players are sent by the
Question and
Deathstroke respectively to infiltrate Intergang and steal the Crime Bible from Mannheim. They arrive just as he sacrifices
Batwoman to gain infinite power, though the players are able to defeat him with assistance from their respective benefactors. Following this, they use the Crime Bible to revive Batwoman.
The Smallville incarnation of Bruno Mannheim appears in Smallville Season 11, in which he becomes the leader of Intergang, gains possession of the Crime Bible, and is incarcerated at
Stryker's Island, where
Batman interrogates him for the whereabouts of
Joe Chill's safehouse.
^Greenberger, Robert; Pasko, Martin (2010). The Essential Superman Encyclopedia. Del Rey. pp. 234–235.
ISBN978-0-345-50108-0.
^Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 193.
ISBN978-1-4654-5357-0.
^
abc"Bruno Mannheim Voices (Superman)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved April 23, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.